


The Wreck We’ve Made

by idrilhadhafang



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Actor Kylo Ren, Actor Poe Dameron, Alternate Universe - Actors, Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Friends, M/M, Past Drug Use, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:54:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29177520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: When Poe and Kylo, childhood friends and fellow child actors, reunite on the set of Young Jedi Knights, they find that new and old wounds of their relationship have to be healed in order to move forward.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Ben Solo, Poe Dameron/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren
Kudos: 3
Collections: Bad Day Collection





	The Wreck We’ve Made

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Hey, people. Call this AU just a way to work through some emotions I have about the Adam nunfuckery (to quote Nash Bozard) stirring up Twitter. I will admit that I still have no idea what’s going on because even the Portegeuse translation on Twitter was kind of like the sentences didn’t make sense but...hopefully I can find a way to cope a bit. 
> 
> Title from “Happier” by Marshmello ft. Bastille.

When Poe Dameron reunited with his childhood friend Kylo Ren again, it was something that he couldn’t say he expected. He’d auditioned for a part in Larma D’Acy’s _Young Jedi Knights_ series, and had gotten it — the role of the spice runner slash Republic pilot Oscar Dae. Prior to that, he and Ben had been child actors, and childhood friends. 

That was before, of course, everything went to hell. 

Child actors becoming screwed up as they got older...well, it definitely wasn’t unheard of, and Ben had gotten more screwed up as he’d gotten older. Drugs. Partying. On-set tantrums. 

(That fight that they’d had...)

Even as Poe sat down at the table with his castmates, Jessika Pava, Temmin “Snap” Wexley, Kare Kun, Paige Tico, and Rose Tico, he couldn’t help but feel the atmosphere turn from cheerful (talking about their projects beforehand) to awkward even as Ben Solo (Kylo Ren, Poe mentally corrected himself) walked in. 

The first thing that Poe noticed was that he looked better. Not as haunted, not as pale and almost drained-looking. The night they’d fought, he could remember the wildness of Ben’s black hair, the way his face had just looked pinched and pale. 

“ _I’m not sitting back and watching your suicide, Ben_...”

That was what Poe said. Even remembering those words running through his head, Poe winced. 

“Friend of yours?” Jess said, softly. 

“You could say that,” Poe said. 

Then again, after their last fight, did Ben even still think of him as important anymore?

***

Director Larma D’Acy was the one to introduce them. “Kylo,” she said, “You’re familiar with Poe Dameron, aren’t you?”

”I am,” Kylo said. Poe didn’t miss the strange, funny feelings that erupted at the rumble of Kylo’s deep voice. He could remember all too well, realizing that Ben wasn’t just the small, skinny boy who trailed after him anymore. “You could say he was an old friend of mine.”

Was. Poe had to suppress a wince. 

“Good,” D’Acy said. “I trust that the both of you can work together?”

”Don’t worry,” Poe said. “We’ll do things your way.”

***

It was later, before rehearsals, that Kylo spoke to Poe. “So,” he said. “How’ve you been?”

”Okay,” Poe said. The goddamn amount of small-talk with someone he used to know. “I’ve been managing.”

”So have I.” Then, “I quit my job at First Order studios. Best decision I made in a while.”

”That’s good.” There had been something in Poe that had found that just seeing the news about Kylo quitting was a relief. At least he was out of a toxic environment. There had been something about seeing photos of Ben onset that had hurt Poe. Like someone was taking the Ben he’d grown up with and squeezing the life out of him. 

Silence. 

“I went into rehab too,” Kylo said. “I figured that the chair incident was a wake-up call to actually get my act together."

”Yeah.” According to a podcast interview, Kylo had actually broken a chair onset in a rage. It had been unclear to everyone else, but Poe had learned Portuguese in college so he knew what had happened. 

People were upset about the incident, and rightly so. Poe supposed that he was upset that it was yet another instance of his childhood friend becoming unrecognizable. 

Kylo sighed. “It was bad,” he said. “I scared my co-star, and I lost someone who could have been a good friend of mine. I was kind of an irritable, spoiled asshole on set and sometimes I thought of what Mom and Dad would say if they saw me like this. What you would say.”

”So you did think of me.”

” ‘Course I did,” Kylo said. “We were friends.”

Were. That was the thing, wasn’t it — the “were”. It shouldn’t have hurt so much. It did anyway. 

“Are we still friends?” Poe said. 

“If you want to be.”

 _Yes_ , Poe thought, _of course I do. Of course I want to be friends. Why wouldn’t I want to be?_

But he didn’t say that out loud. Instead, he nodded. 

“That’s good, at least,” Kylo said. “I...” Then, “I really do appreciate you, Poe.”

***

It was strange, Poe thought, looking over the script for the pilot of _Young Jedi Knights,_ knowing that he was good as in Kylo’s shoes, playing the role of Oscar coming back from spice running. Spice running. It wasn’t exactly clear in the script per se, but as far as Poe could gather, it was some sort of gang (not exactly encouraging), and Oscar had gotten out. Saving an officer named Sela Trune at one point, and though he failed to save her a second time, at least he’d been with her as she’d died. A well-intentioned young man, at least. Poe decided he liked him. 

Oscar, of course, was feeling guilty about everything. Adam, Kylo’s character...well, he was trying to reassure Oscar that he was better than he thought he was. Trying to. 

It was the thought that counted, at least. 

Poe sat down and began to read the script, wondering how much the roles of Oscar and Adam were basically him and Kylo — only swapped. 


End file.
